


Christmas Sweaters and Secret Plans

by Sunrises_and_Soccer



Category: NCIS: New Orleans
Genre: Christmas fic, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:22:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,374
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28470816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sunrises_and_Soccer/pseuds/Sunrises_and_Soccer
Summary: Tammy was excited for this Christmas. Neither Hannah nor Tammy knew Naomi had a plan.
Relationships: Tammy Gregorio/Hannah Khoury
Comments: 9
Kudos: 21





	Christmas Sweaters and Secret Plans

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't finish before Christmas, but I got it done before 2021.

It was the first Christmas Tammy would be spending with Hannah and Naomi. Hannah invited her to join the mother-daughter duo when she heard that Sebastian would be out of town visiting his mother and she had nowhere to go. Tammy was excited.

She had already wrapped the gifts--two small ones for Hannah and one small and one slightly larger for Naomi--and placed them in a bag, which now sat by the door. The house was quiet without Sebastian, no sounds of his video games or sibling-like bickering bouncing off the walls. It did seem a bit lonely.

Tammy decided to make a tray of pasta with her special sauce to bring over to Hannah’s place, a thank you gift some would say, for inviting her over. Tammy didn’t want to spend the holidays alone but never thought Hannah of all people would want to spend more time with her.

With the gifts wrapped and the water for the pasta on a low setting on the stove, Tammy wandered back into her bedroom to figure out what to wear. She wasn’t completely sure what to put on, since it would only be Hannah, Naomi, and herself. She decided on black ripped jeans and her black boots but wasn’t sure what shirt to wear. After a two-minute inner debate, she texted Hannah.

_Tammy: Is there a dress code I need to abide by?_

Hannah’s response was quick.

_Hannah: Naomi insisted on ugly sweaters, but if you don’t have one just dress so you’re comfortable._

Tammy had to laugh. It was such a Naomi thing to do, but it brought up a problem: Tammy had no idea if she still had an ugly sweater, and if she did she didn’t know where she’d put it. While she had her phone out, she went through her photo albums to see if she had a picture of the sweater. She found one in her album titled, “Laverne and Shirley”, laughing at the fact that Sonja probably still doesn’t know who they are.

She sorted through her closet, immediately thinking she could have thrown it among her jackets or sweaters. No luck. She then started digging through each drawer, making sure not to make a mess. She was convinced she had an ugly sweater, Sonja had given her one, during the one Christmas they had spent living together. _Where had it gone?_

She sat back on the bed after going through the last drawer, not finding the sweater. Tammy groaned.

After a moment, she heard the front door open, and she furrowed her eyebrows before dragging her slipper-clad feet into the living room.

“Sebastian, what are you doing here?!” Tammy hollered when she heard Sebastian stumble through the hallway. She checked the time on the cable box near the TV. “It’s 2:30. Aren’t you supposed to be at your mother’s house by 4?”

Sebastian stuttered when he heard her frustrated tone, and he couldn’t decipher if it was directly pointed at him or if she was mad at something or someone else. He didn’t even take off his jacket. “I-I um, got halfway out of New Orleans when I noticed that I forgot a gift under the tree.”

Tammy pinched the bridge of her nose. “How many gifts did you buy?”

“Uh, five,” Sebastian responded, still confused at Tammy’s behavior. “Are you mad at me or something?”

“I’m not mad at you,” Tammy answered, turning back towards the kitchen to check how the water was doing. She turned up the heat, deciding it was time to get the water to boil.

Sebastian wandered over to their Christmas tree, finding the missing gift where he had put the rest of the ones for his mom. “I should have used different wrapping paper for each gift,” he muttered to himself.

Once Tammy had put the pasta in the water, she turned around to see Sebastian leaning against the kitchen island. “Don’t make that face. And why haven’t you left yet?”

“Because something’s bothering you and I need to make sure you’re okay before I leave you for the next few days.”

Tammy sighed. “Nothing’s bothering me. Just you for not leaving.”

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. “You’re lying.”

Another sigh. “Fine, I’m missing my ugly sweater.”

A chuckle escaped Sebastian’s lips, and his roommate whacked his wrist with the wooden spoon she had in her hand. “Stop laughing at me!”

“I didn’t know you had an ugly sweater!”

Tammy shot him a glare. “Sonja gave it to me when we lived together.”

That got him to calm down. “Where have you checked for this sweater?”

“My drawers and my closet. ” Tammy put down the spoon. “No luck.”

“Do you want to use one of mine?”

Tammy gave him a disappointed look. “As much as it would help me not waste time, I think I’d rather find my own.”

“Okay, then finish cooking the pasta and let me know when you’re done.”

Tammy stirred the pasta and turned back to Sebastian. “Aren’t you supposed to be on your way to your mother’s house? Why are you still here?”

“Because I want to help you find it.”

“That’s really nice of you but I don’t want your help and you’re going to be la-”

Sebastian put his foot down. “I’m going to help you find this sweater and then I’ll go to my mom’s house. No more arguing about it, I’m not going anywhere until we find it.”

Tammy huffed. “Fine. The spaghetti’s ready.”

Sebastian gave the grumpy woman a few minutes to finish putting the pasta in the tray and put a cover on it, and he made sure he was not forgetting anything else for his stay at his mother’s house.

“Alright,” she placed the wooden spoon in the sink, “now, how are you going to help me find it? I checked.”

Sebastian walked over to the doorway of Tammy’s room. “Permission to enter?”

“Why are you asking to enter my room like an eight-year-old asks to be excused from the dinner table?”

He had to bite back a laugh and a snarky remark at the same time. “Because last time I came in without asking I got a shoe thrown at me.”

Tammy pinched the bridge of her nose again. “Just help me find the sweater and get out of here please.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Tammy gave him another tart look. “Keep that up…”

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

Tammy looked around her room, pointing out every drawer she had gone through. Sebastian checked the closet again (only with Tammy’s permission), not finding the sweater.

“Did you check under the bed?”

“Why would it be under my bed?”

“Did you check anyway?”

Tammy rolled her eyes. “No, I have no idea why it would be under there.”

“Well do you have other stuff under there?”

She thought for a moment. “I put most of my summer stuff in there since I don’t need it now, it’s in a container.”

“Can I look?”

“Sure.”

Sebastian kneeled on the floor, craning his head so he could see what was under the bed. There was a clear container under the center of the bed, and he carefully pulled it out. Tammy wandered over from where she was standing in front of her mirror, bending over on the other side of the container. She took off the top and placed it next to her foot.

Sebastian stood up to give Tammy some space to look through the contents of the container. Sure enough, there was a plastic bag at the bottom, and when she opened it Tammy found the sweater.

“Huh. I must not have taken it out when I took out the other winter stuff.” She unfolded it and set it on her bed.

“You’re welcome.”

“Thank you.” Tammy waved him out of her room. “Now get out of here, you’re going to be late to your mom’s place, she’s going to be worried.”

“Okay, okay!” he responded with a laugh.

She followed him to the front door. “Sebastian.” Her tone was sincere.

“Yes?”

“Thank you for helping me find the sweater, I really appreciate it.”

Sebastian smiled. “Of course.”

The New Yorker opened her arms. “Come here.” He bent down into her embrace, and she placed a kiss on the side of his head. “Be safe and have a Merry Christmas.”

“You too, enjoy spending time with Hannah and Naomi.”

“You better tell your mother I said hi!” She called as he descended the steps outside the house.

“I will!”

Tammy watched him drive away with a sigh. In all of her worrying and arguing with her annoying yet amazing roommate, she lost track of time. She locked the door hastily, knowing she would be opening it again in less than an hour.

Now having the space she needed to get ready in peace, she checked the tray of pasta one last time before retreating to her room to get changed. The sweater still fit her, and she shook her head when she looked at herself in the mirror.

The sweater was mainly red, except for the green around the collar, ends of the sleeves, and the design. It had a reindeer stitched over most of the front, with bells hanging from the ears. The stomach of the reindeer had a giant heart covering it. More small reindeer looked like they were flying across the top of the sweater. Tammy remembered Sonja picked this one specifically because apparently, Tammy had, “the biggest heart of anyone she’d ever met”.

After getting dressed and brushing out her hair, she applied a small bit of makeup and wandered back into the kitchen. Putting the still-steaming tray into a reusable bag, she moved it towards the door.

Once she made sure she had the gifts and food ready, she looked around to make sure the house was in order, then left.

_Off to Hannah’s house._

\----------

The ride over was not bad, there was a small amount of traffic, but Tammy still got to her destination on time. She parked the car in front of the house, grabbing the bag of gifts and then the tray. She had to be careful walking up to the door to make sure she didn’t miss a step. It didn’t help that the butterflies in her stomach seemed to be having a party.

When she finally got to the door, she carefully placed the gift bag on the porch and took a deep breath. _Here goes nothing._ She rang the doorbell.

Shuffling awkwardly on her feet, she waited for someone to open the door. It seemed to be ten minutes, but in reality, it was maybe a minute before Hannah answered the door. The first thing Tammy saw was Hannah’s smile.

“Hey!” Hannah greeted enthusiastically. “Come on in, you’re just in time, Naomi just finished setting the table.”

“Glad I could be here,” Tammy responded with a grin. Hannah took her jacket and put it on a hook and ushered the nervous woman further into the house. “I hope I’m not intruding on your Christmas celebrations.”

“Oh trust me, you’re not.” The taller woman opened her arms for a hug. She missed Tammy’s nervous expression. “Both Naomi and I are so excited for you to be here with us.”

Tammy chuckled. “Speaking of, where is the Christmas elf?” Hannah had sent Tammy a picture of Naomi dressed up for the last school day before break, the girl wearing an elf hat and a green shirt with a couple of elves decorating the front.

“She’s in her room, she had taken off her sweater while wrapping her gifts so I told her to go put it back on.” Hannah noticed the tray in the other woman’s hands. “What’d you make?”

“Oh, um, spaghetti with my family’s sauce. I thought I would cook something to say thank you for inviting me.”

“You know you’re always welcome here.” Hannah put a hand on Tammy’s shoulder. “Anytime.”

Tammy smiled. “So, what’s the plan for tonight?”

“We’re going to eat dinner, then-”

“Tammy!” Naomi immediately ran over to the newcomer, wrapping her arms around the woman’s torso.

“Hey there, kid.” Tammy reciprocated the hug. “How are you?”

“I’m good! I like your sweater!”

Tammy laughed at the girl’s enthusiasm. “Thanks.”

“Mom,” the girl turned to her mother, “Are we going to eat soon? I’m hungry.”

Hannah chuckled. “Yeah, go wash up and set the table. The food’s ready.”

Naomi skipped on her way to wash her hands, which gave the two women a chance to talk in the kitchen. “I made Gundi.”

“What’s Gundi?” Tammy asked.

Hannah pointed to the bowl she just filled. “It’s basically a Persian chicken meatball soup. Naomi loves it, you will too.”

Tammy leaned over Hannah’s right shoulder, looking at the plate on the counter. “Those look like matzo balls.”

“That’s what they basically are. But they taste better.”

“That sounds like a challenge.”

Hannah took a forkful and held it up to Tammy’s mouth. Tammy gave the former spy a look before opening her mouth.

“Wow,” Tammy said after she swallowed the food. “That is good.”

“Better than matzo balls?”

“Nope, but it’s up there.”

“Good. there’s plenty more where that came from.”

“Great, because my stomach’s growling.”

Neither woman knew that Naomi was hiding behind the refrigerator watching the entire exchange. It might be Christmas Eve, but she had a plan.

After dinner, the three of them curled up on the couch to pick a movie to watch. 

They picked a new lesbian Christmas rom-com that seemed to be trending on Hulu. Tammy made a note of how the story was sad but all too true for members of the LGBTQ community. Hannah was going to ask Tammy a question about if her family was like the one in the movie, but decided against it since Naomi was sitting with them. She didn’t know if it was a sore subject for the New Yorker.

When the movie ended, Naomi asked Tammy to tell stories about Christmas with her family. The woman decided to keep the stories light, she didn’t want to ruin the mood.

“One of my older cousins turned on _A Christmas Story_ every year. And it was on a channel that played it on repeat, so I and all my younger cousins would be forced to watch it right before midnight.”

It was entertaining for Hannah, especially when Tammy mentioned that it meant she never got to see Santa, and when they were all called upstairs again there was always a heaping number of gifts under the tree.

When Naomi said she wanted to get up to make some hot chocolate, it gave Hannah the opportunity to ask the question she had been thinking about. “Was it hard being around your family during the holidays when you couldn’t really be your true self?”

Tammy’s demeanor softened. “It wasn’t the best. If anyone asked me about boys when I was in high school, I did my best to only talk about Ethan, and I could tell not everyone was really paying attention so no one really got suspicious.”

“No one ever thought about asking you why you weren’t always seen during street fairs?”

Tammy grinned, remembering when she mentioned slipping away to Pride and Hannah during a case. “Nah, they probably just thought I was hanging with friends.” Hannah smiled.

“Mom, I can’t find the hot cocoa powder!” Naomi called from the kitchen.

“I got it,” Hannah murmured. She got up and wandered into the kitchen.

Tammy admired the room. The tree was put up in the corner closest to the window facing the front porch, with a few gifts already placed under the tree. Tammy hoped they were for Naomi and not for herself. She only got Hannah and Naomi two gifts each after all.

Naomi joined Tammy on the couch moments later, saying that Hannah had taken over making the hot chocolate. 

“Thanks for being here Tammy,” she curled up into Tammy’s side. “I don’t think I’ve seen my mom like this happy on Christmas in a while.” Tammy’s heart swelled. She murmured a sincere thanks before her phone started ringing. She almost declined the call without really checking who the caller ID was when she noticed the New York area code.

Naomi noticed that Tammy had stiffened, so she shifted enough to let the sniper get up to answer the call.

“Hello?” Tammy said into the phone once she reached the hallway and stood outside the bathroom door.

 _“Hey, stranger.”_ Tammy almost dropped the phone when she heard the voice.

“Sonja? Is-is that you?”

_“Hell yeah, it’s me. How you doin’?”_

“It’s good. Why you callin’ from a New York area code?”

_“Because I’m in New York, you idiot!”_

“Are you on an assignment?”

_“Yeah, I’ve been super busy but I thought I’d call and wish you a Merry Christmas.”_

“Aww, thanks. Merry Christmas to you too. What are you doin’ tomorrow?”

_“Nothing really, a few of my coworkers and I are going to get together and hang out.”_

“That sounds nice.”

_“How are you and that co-worker you were texting me about? Hannah?”_

Sonja’s question knocked Tammy off guard. “Oh, uh, nothing’s happened really. She actually invited me to her house for tonight and tomorrow.”

_“Sounds interesting.”_

“Stop speculating.”

_“I’m not speculating!”_

“You’re tone says otherwise.”

_“Stop profiling me. You just gotta open your eyes when someone presents an opportunity.”_

“Nothing’s going to happen.”

_“So you think.”_

Tammy sighed. “Alright, I’ve got hot chocolate waiting for me. I hope we can talk again soon.”

_“That sounds good. Next time you better tell me about how it was spending Christmas with that hot woman.”_

“You’re impossible.”

_“You still love me. Merry Christmas T.”_

A smile grew across Tammy’s lips. “Merry Christmas, talk soon.” Sonja hung up first. Tammy looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. Maybe she would make a move with Hannah tonight.

Tammy had been thinking about calling Sonja for a while, but with the holidays making her life seem to be going crazy and not knowing too much about what was going on with her former roommate, she had never gotten around to it. Sure they shared small conversations over text every once in a while, but Tammy missed talking to her. They were so close, even living together for the better part of a year, but after Sonja joined the FBI they grew apart. It surprised Tammy when her former roommate mentioned Hannah, but it showed how much Sonja cared.

Tammy wandered back into the kitchen to find Hannah leaning on the counter facing the living room, watching Naomi check her text messages.

“Hey.” She stood next to the refrigerator, sure not to scare the former spy.

“You okay?” Hannah asked when her eyes landed on the shorter woman.

“Yeah, one of my friends called.”

“Haven’t spoken to them in a while?”

Tammy shrugged. “Kinda.”

“That’s nice though.”

“Yeah,” Tammy’s voice rose an octave as Hannah moved closer. “It is.”

Within seconds they were a foot or two apart, casually leaning on the side of the refrigerator. Tammy felt a rush of courage come over her, and she leaned up to connect her lips to Hannah’s.

Their mouths moved together for about a minute before they had to pull apart for air.

“Wow.” Tammy’s voice was low. “That was better than what I could have ever imagined.”

“Yeah?” Hannah suggested breathily.

“Yeah.”

They were too caught up in their own world to notice that Naomi had slipped in and out of the kitchen, grabbing a mug of hot chocolate and finding a hiding spot to watch what the two women were going to do next. Her plan had worked.

Hannah was the first to notice the paper mistletoe taped to the top of the refrigerator. She smirked and shook her head.

Tammy furrowed her eyebrows. “What?”

“My daughter is sneaky.” She pointed to the mistletoe hovering over them.

“She’s good.”

“I guess I taught her too well.”

Naomi had made sure she hid well enough that she could slink away back to the couch before her mother or Tammy could find her.

Pumping her fist in the air, she whispered, “Yes!”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
